WTF, Thor?
*** WARNING *** THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME *** Let me begin by stating that I love Chris Hemsworth and I love Thor. The first two Thor movies that everyone disses? I like them, though not as much as Ragnarok or my other favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain Marvel. And of course, I love Infinity War, mostly because of Thor’s arc in that film. When Thor rode the Bifröst down into the desperate battle in Wakanda in an explosion of power, the audience erupted in applause. That doesn’t happen often in movies these days. It was the best part. For me, the scenes with Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy were close behind, managing to blend humor with what was necessary to move a serious story forward.
Remember this exchange, after the Guardians hauled an unconscious Thor into their ship?
Peter Quill: “How the hell is this dude still alive?” Drax: “He is not a dude. You’re a dude. This is a man. A handsome, muscular man.”
Therefore, imagine my dismay when Endgame turned Thor into a dude! Yes, I know he failed. I know he should have gone for the head. Maybe his desire to gloat caused him to make that disastrous mistake, but he failed like a superhero (I still don’t understand why it took so long for Thor to show up where the others were fighting Thanos, but I seem to be the only one who wonders this).
In Endgame, we see the consequences of that defeat. Thor has turned into a beer-soaked, pot-bellied little boy. Mind you, there are a few things I admire about this choice. Thor’s arc could have shined a light on post-traumatic stress. It could have shown how a person can claw their way back, but it was played for too much obvious humor for that to work. I will also begrudgingly admit that the choice to not have Thor magically regain his beauteous physique was a bold one, and could have been a nice little statement about living large in the body you’ve got if it weren’t for all the fat jokes. In addition, I will unapologetically state I was miffed I couldn’t get an eyeful of Chris Hemsworth’s gorgeous body.
Yes, Thor’s arc disappointed me. I expected heroic redemption. I even thought he might die – sacrifice himself to kill Thanos and restore all that had been lost. Instead, Stark was the one. All Thor did was unsuccessfully grapple with Thanos a few times and watch Captain America wield his hammer.
Even when Thor and Rocket time-traveled to Asgard to retrieve the Reality Stone, Rocket was the one who got it done. Thor went to get a little nurturing from his mother. Her advice may have been good, but the tone of the scene underscored Thor’s new status as a dude rather than a man.
So you see, it was impossible for me to think much of Endgame. A friend of mine pointed out that Chris Hemsworth himself suggested this arc for Thor. While I didn’t find anything that specifically said he wanted to have a beer gut and act like a dude, I did read an interview in which he said he and the Russo brothers discussed how far they could push his character. After the success of Ragnarok, it’s clear that Marvel wants to keep Thor on the humorous side. At the conclusion of Endgame, Thor is poised to fly off with the Guardians of the Galaxy again, to reprise the fun and chemistry of those great scenes from Infinity War. But what if Hemsworth had other reasons to play most of Endgame as Big Lebowski Thor? [image error] Don’t worry. I’m not so far gone as to think I know what goes on in Chris Hemsworth’s impossibly handsome head. I’m just going to indulge in a little speculation.
I watched a clip once of Hemsworth on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. No doubt to please her viewers, she compiled a reel of all the times Thor appeared shirtless (I can tell you it pleased me). At some point, Hemsworth said, “Yep. That’s all I did. For ten years.”
This got me thinking. The man may be sick of being objectified. Women complain about being objectified, myself certainly included. I hold to the feminist precept that what we do should be more important than what we look like. As things have gotten better for women, it’s not as though the objectification has stopped, but it’s become much more common for women to objectify men as well, to give as good as they get.
Yes, I know the dynamic is different. Objectification, turning women into a commodity, is one way to strip them of their power. It doesn’t undermine men in the same way, but that doesn’t mean they never notice.
One year, Chris Hemsworth appeared at the Wizard World comic con in Philadelphia. I attended a panel discussion with him and Tom Hiddleston. Most of the questions from the audience were for Hiddleston. People asked about his show at the time, a highbrow affair called The Night Manager, as well as his roles in Shakespearean theater. I felt bad for Hemsworth.
I know, I know. It's ridiculous to feel bad for a multimillionaire movie star who lives in an idyllic place with his stunning, super-cool wife and his three beautiful children, but I couldn’t help it. The moderator asked Hemsworth about his favorite role. He didn’t say Thor. He answered James Hunt, the race-car driver he’d played in Rush, a role for which he received critical acclaim (great movie, by the way).
Not to say his looks weren’t also important for that role, but I felt like Hemsworth might be saying there’s more to him than abs.
So imagine how much fun he must have had playing Thor with a beer gut? To continue what he’d started in Ragnarok – to shed the faux-Shakespearean heft that earned the early Thor movies so much ridicule (while his costar actually did Shakespeare) and display his comedic talent? To completely subvert all those shirtless Thor scenes?
Really, he must have had a ball.
Remember this exchange, after the Guardians hauled an unconscious Thor into their ship?
Peter Quill: “How the hell is this dude still alive?” Drax: “He is not a dude. You’re a dude. This is a man. A handsome, muscular man.”
Therefore, imagine my dismay when Endgame turned Thor into a dude! Yes, I know he failed. I know he should have gone for the head. Maybe his desire to gloat caused him to make that disastrous mistake, but he failed like a superhero (I still don’t understand why it took so long for Thor to show up where the others were fighting Thanos, but I seem to be the only one who wonders this).
In Endgame, we see the consequences of that defeat. Thor has turned into a beer-soaked, pot-bellied little boy. Mind you, there are a few things I admire about this choice. Thor’s arc could have shined a light on post-traumatic stress. It could have shown how a person can claw their way back, but it was played for too much obvious humor for that to work. I will also begrudgingly admit that the choice to not have Thor magically regain his beauteous physique was a bold one, and could have been a nice little statement about living large in the body you’ve got if it weren’t for all the fat jokes. In addition, I will unapologetically state I was miffed I couldn’t get an eyeful of Chris Hemsworth’s gorgeous body.
Yes, Thor’s arc disappointed me. I expected heroic redemption. I even thought he might die – sacrifice himself to kill Thanos and restore all that had been lost. Instead, Stark was the one. All Thor did was unsuccessfully grapple with Thanos a few times and watch Captain America wield his hammer.
Even when Thor and Rocket time-traveled to Asgard to retrieve the Reality Stone, Rocket was the one who got it done. Thor went to get a little nurturing from his mother. Her advice may have been good, but the tone of the scene underscored Thor’s new status as a dude rather than a man.
So you see, it was impossible for me to think much of Endgame. A friend of mine pointed out that Chris Hemsworth himself suggested this arc for Thor. While I didn’t find anything that specifically said he wanted to have a beer gut and act like a dude, I did read an interview in which he said he and the Russo brothers discussed how far they could push his character. After the success of Ragnarok, it’s clear that Marvel wants to keep Thor on the humorous side. At the conclusion of Endgame, Thor is poised to fly off with the Guardians of the Galaxy again, to reprise the fun and chemistry of those great scenes from Infinity War. But what if Hemsworth had other reasons to play most of Endgame as Big Lebowski Thor? [image error] Don’t worry. I’m not so far gone as to think I know what goes on in Chris Hemsworth’s impossibly handsome head. I’m just going to indulge in a little speculation.
I watched a clip once of Hemsworth on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. No doubt to please her viewers, she compiled a reel of all the times Thor appeared shirtless (I can tell you it pleased me). At some point, Hemsworth said, “Yep. That’s all I did. For ten years.”
This got me thinking. The man may be sick of being objectified. Women complain about being objectified, myself certainly included. I hold to the feminist precept that what we do should be more important than what we look like. As things have gotten better for women, it’s not as though the objectification has stopped, but it’s become much more common for women to objectify men as well, to give as good as they get.
Yes, I know the dynamic is different. Objectification, turning women into a commodity, is one way to strip them of their power. It doesn’t undermine men in the same way, but that doesn’t mean they never notice.
One year, Chris Hemsworth appeared at the Wizard World comic con in Philadelphia. I attended a panel discussion with him and Tom Hiddleston. Most of the questions from the audience were for Hiddleston. People asked about his show at the time, a highbrow affair called The Night Manager, as well as his roles in Shakespearean theater. I felt bad for Hemsworth.
I know, I know. It's ridiculous to feel bad for a multimillionaire movie star who lives in an idyllic place with his stunning, super-cool wife and his three beautiful children, but I couldn’t help it. The moderator asked Hemsworth about his favorite role. He didn’t say Thor. He answered James Hunt, the race-car driver he’d played in Rush, a role for which he received critical acclaim (great movie, by the way).
Not to say his looks weren’t also important for that role, but I felt like Hemsworth might be saying there’s more to him than abs.
So imagine how much fun he must have had playing Thor with a beer gut? To continue what he’d started in Ragnarok – to shed the faux-Shakespearean heft that earned the early Thor movies so much ridicule (while his costar actually did Shakespeare) and display his comedic talent? To completely subvert all those shirtless Thor scenes?
Really, he must have had a ball.
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